WASHINGTON — Canadian National claims it has found additional train count inconsistencies in the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger application and related environmental filings. The Surface Transportation Board last month put review of the CP-KCS merger on hold until discrepancies in train density data could be sorted out. CP has provided the board with clarification […]
Court rules Japanese railway must return 1 minute of pay to driver docked for delay
OKAYAMA, Japan — A Japanese railway driver who sued over being docked one minute’s pay will have the money returned posthumously, a court has ruled. But his request for 2.2 million yen (more than $17,000) for emotional distress was dismissed, Kyodo News reports. The driver sued last year after he was docked 56 yen (currently […]
Amtrak to restore four long-distance trains to daily service in late May
WASHINGTON — Four of the seven Amtrak long-distance trains currently operating five days per week will return to daily schedules the week of May 23, according to information obtained by Trains News Wire. Two others will continue to run on the five-day-per-week schedule, while cancellation of Silver Meteor service to and from Florida will continue […]
Federal judge strikes down transportation mask mandate (updated)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak will continue to welcome mask use in stations and aboard trains but will not require it following a Monday ruling by a Florida judge striking down the federal mask mandate. But some public transit agencies indicated they would leave their mask rule in place, at least temporarily. The government had just extended […]
Carload Considerations: Trucking fuel costs make case for shipping by rail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With diesel fuel prices for trucks twice as high as a year ago, railroads may have an opportunity to benefit from truck-to-rail shipping conversions. Truckers, struggling to preserve operating margins, are adding fuel surcharges or renegotiated rates, prompting shippers to price rail alternatives in search of cost savings and better reliability. Truck […]
Rail project at Port of Long Beach gets federal approval
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A major expansion of rail facilities at the Port of Long Beach has received long-awaited approval from the U.S. Maritime Administration, the port announced Monday. The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility will reduce truck traffic by allowing direct transfer of containers between trains and marine terminals. The issuance of a […]
News Photo: Retired Coaster commuter engines moved to Anaheim
SAN DIEGO — North County Transit District’s fleet of five retired Morrison-Knudsen F40PHM-2C locomotives was shuttled from storage at Oceanside, Calif., earlier this month and delivered to Coast Rail Services at nearby Anaheim. The units’ fate has not yet been determined. Among the parties interested in acquiring one or more units are two Southern California […]
Oil Creek & Titusville to host photo charter May 28
TITUSVILLE, Pa. — The Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad will host a photo charter on May 28 featuring all three of its locomotives, featuring M420W No. 3568 in its new Pennsy-inspired Oil Creek & Titusville paint scheme. Just 35 seats are available for the event, scheduled for 5 hours and also featuring Alco S2 locomotives […]
Effort to save Ohio station may miss moving deadline, exceed budgeted funding
HAMILTON, Ohio — Efforts to save a former train station dating to the 1850s may not be completed by a CSX Transportation deadline to move the station’s two structures, and are likely to cost more than the $2 million budgeted by the city, reports the Journal-News of Middletown, Ohio. CSX had asked that the structures […]
Trains, June 2022
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Fertilizer producer says UP shipment restrictions could threaten crops
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Union Pacific’s plan to begin metering traffic as of today will curtail fertilizer shipments and put crops at risk, a major fertilizer producer says. “The timing of this action by Union Pacific could not come at a worse time for farmers,” CF Industries CEO Tony Will said in a statement on Thursday. […]
Gulf Coast testimony confirms modeling did not explore operating changes: Analysis
WASHINGTON — Two days of testimony that made up the second week of the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service delved into the intricacies of traffic modeling and its data inputs, and made clear both that Amtrak had no role in that modeling, and that consideration of changes to freight operations were […]